Deep-sea corals are a promising new archive of paleoclimate. Coupled radiocarbon and U-series dates allow 14C to be used as a tracer of ocean circulation rate in the same manner as it is used in the modern ocean. Diagenetic alteration of coral skeletons on the seafloor requires a thorough cleaning of contaminating phases of carbon. In addition, 10% of the coral must be chemically leached prior to dissolution to remove adsorbed modern CO2. A survey of modern samples from the full δ14C gradient in the deep ocean demonstrates that the coralline CaCO3 records the radiocarbon value of the dissolved inorganic carbon.

We discus here the prehistoric settlement of the central-south Brazilian coast, and, more specifically, 1 old radiocarbon date obtained for a costal shellmound, as well as its implications concerning the chronology attributed to the settlement process. The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) technique was used to determine the 14C age of charcoal from a shellmound on the southern coast of Rio de Janeiro. The resulting age was 7860 ± 80 BP, an unexpected result that reinforces 2 similar previously obtained dates for the same region. Brazilian archaeologists, however, have questioned those 2 dates, because they would predate by some 2000 yr the antiquity consensually accepted for the settlement of the central-south Brazilian littoral.

We report results from AMS radiocarbon measurements (δ14C) in corals recovered off the coast of Kenya. Bimonthly samples which span the pre-bomb era average −51 (±3.7; n=43), when age and Suess effect are corrected, and over the time of interest (1946–1954) do not exhibit any discernible seasonality. Relative to regional pre-bomb δ14C values in the western Indian Ocean, our results indicate 14C enrichment off the coast of Kenya. Furthermore, the absence of a distinct subannual δ14C signal suggests that open and coastal upwelling is negligible off the coast of Kenya. Unlike pre-bomb values south of the equator near Seychelles and Madagascar, our pre-bomb value are enriched by more than 10. The enrichment of pre-bomb Kenyan δ14C values relative to sites around Mauritius, northern Madagascar and Seychelles, suggest that the influence of depleted δ14C water transported in the SEC is limited to regions south of 3 to 4°S.

Existing data and theory do not support a recent assertion that upwelling of old carbon has led to systematically 100–300 yr too old radiocarbon ages for the Mediterranean region. Similarly, the prehistoric tree-ring record produced over 3 decades by the Aegean Dendrochronology Project is shown to provide robust, well-replicated data, contrary to a recent unfounded assertion. 14C and dendrochronology provide an accurate and precise chronometric framework for the Mediterranean region.

Radiocarbon (14C) produced by cosmogenic processes in the atmosphere reacts rapidly with atomic oxygen to form 14CO. The primary sink for this species is oxidation by the OH radical, the single most important oxidation mechanism for pollutants in the atmosphere. Hence, knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of 14CO allows important inferences to be made about atmospheric transport processes and the distribution of OH. Because the chemical lifetime of 14CO against OH attack is relatively short, 1–3 months, its distribution in the atmosphere should show modulations due to changes in 14C production caused by variations in the solar cycle. In this work we present a simple methodology to provide a time series of global 14C production to help interpret time series of atmospheric 14CO measurements covering the whole of solar cycle 23. We use data from neutron monitors, a readily available proxy for global 14C production, and show that an existing 6-year time series of 14CO data from Baring Head, New Zealand, tracks changes in global 14C production at the onset of solar cycle 23.

When using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) for radiocarbon dating, it is important to correct for carbon contamination that is added to the sample and the standard during chemical processing. We derive an equation for making this correction that generalizes previous work in several ways. We treat the case in which contaminating carbon is added during both the combustion step and graphitization step. Taking this two-stage contamination process into account is particularly important when only a fraction of the CO2 produced in the combustion is graphitized. We also allow for the fact that the 13C fractions of the sample, the standard, and the contaminants may be different.

Radiocarbon measurements of nine known age shells from the Mediterranean and the Aegean Seas combined with previous measurements provide an updated value for δR, the local variation in the reservoir correction for marine samples. Comparison of pre-1950s samples from the Algerian coast, with one collected in 1954, indicates early incorporation of nuclear weapons testing 14C into the shallow surface waters of the Mediterranean. Comparisons between different basins indicate the surface waters of the Mediterranean are relatively homogenous. The recommended δR for calibration of the Mediterranean marine samples with the 1998 marine calibration dataset is 58 ± 85 14C yr, but variations in the reservoir age beyond 6000 cal BP should be considered.

Correcting the 14C age of a sample for fractionation is straightforward if the measured carbon was derived entirely from the atmosphere, either directly or through chemical and/or biological reactions that originated with atmospheric carbon. This correction is complicated in the case of gastropods that incorporate carbon from limestone or secondary carbonate (e.g. soil carbonate) during shell formation. The carbon isotopic composition of such gastropod shells is determined by fractionation, as well as mixing of carbon from sources with different isotopic values. Only the component of shell carbonate derived from atmospheric carbon should be corrected for fractionation. In this paper, the author derives a new expression for correcting the measured 14C activity of gastropod shells for fractionation, and describe an iterative approach that allows the corrected 14C activity and the fraction of shell carbonate derived from atmospheric carbon to be determined simultaneously.

I wish to point out some statistical errors in the uncertainty calculations for the radiocarbon age of the Vinland Map (Donahue et al. 2002). First, the authors state that the 14C measurements of samples with chemical treatments B, C, D, and E “… result in consistent radiocarbon ages”, and that “… two (of these analyses) are 1.5 sigma, and the others are one sigma or less, from the weighted average.” In fact, the overall scatter of the data show that it is improbable that these data are statistically coherent, largely because analysis J21C lies 2.1 sigma from the weighted mean.

We have measured radiocarbon in prebomb known-age shells and coral from the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia to determine marine reservoir age corrections. Western Indian Ocean results show a strong 14C depletion due to upwelling in the Arabian Sea, and indicate that this signal is advected over a wide area to the east and south. In contrast, the surface waters of the South China Sea contain relatively high levels of 14C, due in part to the input of well-equilibrated water masses from the western Pacific. The easternmost regions of the Indian Ocean are also strongly influenced by the flowthrough of Pacific waters north of Australia.

We present here the results of dating of 80 archaeological and paleoenvironmental samples from Argentina and Uruguay, processed between 1986 and 1988 by M A Albero and M A Gonzalez. Series of samples and single samples are grouped by province and then by locality or archeological site, from north to south. See sample location maps for details.

Procedures for sample pretreatment, counting, statistical analysis, and age calculation were essentially the same as previously described by Albero and Angiolini (1985). Results are reported as conventional 14C dates in years before AD 1950. They are corrected for isotopic fractionation. 14C contents of some paleoenvironmental samples are expressed in percent modern carbon (pMC).

In this report we present dating of archaeological samples performed since 1995 in the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Rudjer Bošković Institute. Several samples from the period before 1995, which were not included in our previous data lists, are given as well. Sample preparation, proportional counter technique, and processing of data are essentially the same as reported earlier (Srdoč et al. 1971, 1979; Obelić 1989). The quality assurance and quality control system according to ISO 17025 has been improved within the IAEA TC Regional Project on Quality Control and Quality Assurance for Nuclear Analytical Techniques. The laboratory participated in 14C intercomparison studies (Horvatinčić et al. 1990; Krajcar Bronić et al. 1995; Bryant et al. 2001; Radiocarbon 2001). We use Oxalic Acid I as modern standard, and anthracite and marble as background standards.

The process of calibrating radiocarbon determinations onto the calendar scale requires the setting of a specific statistical model for the calibration curve. This model specification will bear fundamental importance for the resulting inference regarding the parameter of interest—namely, in general, the calendar age associated to the sample that has been 14C-dated.

Traditionally, the 14C calibration curve has been modelled simply as the piece-wise linear curve joining the (internationally agreed) high-precision calibration data points; or, less frequently, by proposing spline functions in order to obtain a smoother curve.

We present a model for the 14C calibration curve which, based on specific characteristics of the dating method, yields a piece-wise linear curve, but one which rather than interpolating the data points, smooths them. We show that with this specific model if a piece-wise linear curve is desired, an underlying random walk model is implied as covariance structure (and vice versa). Furthermore, by making use of all the information provided by the calibration data in a comprehensive way, we achieve an improvement over current models by getting more realistic variance values for the calibration curve.

The paper “The effects of possible contamination on the radiocarbon dates of the Dead Sea Scrolls I: castor oil” by Rasmussen et al. (2001) is discussed. Detailed analysis of the extant dates of the Dead Sea Scrolls suggests that the pretreatment of the samples was adequate. Errors and omissions in the paper are discussed and the implications of the experiment of Rasmussen et al. (2001) are questioned.